Motoring Writer

Government fleets fall behind: Public servants encouraged to drive less efficient cars built locally by Toyota, Ford or Holden. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

The government is lagging behind private motorists in the race to reduce vehicle emissions.

Research published by the National Transport Commission found Australian drivers have chosen significantly more efficient vehicles than corporate and government fleets.

A report released by the commission on Friday found vehicles bought by private buyers had the lowest average emissions at 186 grams of CO2 per kilometre, well ahead of the government average of 210g/km.

Governments at all levels lagged the private vehicle average. Private buyers also led the change to more efficient vehicles, reducing average emissions by 4.1 per cent, ahead of 2.5 per cent for corporate vehicles and 1.1 per cent for government fleets.

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Drivers nationwide have been switching from large locally built sedans such as the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon to more efficient, smaller cars such as Toyota's Corolla.

The difference between government and private buyers is partially due to restrictions on the types of cars public servants are allowed to drive.

Federal vehicle guidelines require public employees to choose Australian-made cars or imported models with an engine capacity of less than 2.0 litres.

Similar restrictions are in place in some state and local governments, such as NSW fleet guidelines that say Australian-made vehicles "are the only variants allowed in the large passenger and upper large passenger vehicle categories". They encourage public servants to drive less efficient cars built locally by Toyota, Ford or Holden.

Car makers such as Mitsubishi are understood to be pushing for increased access to government fleets. It has introduced a hybrid version of its Outlander SUV that uses 1.9L/100km of fuel.

Paul Retter, chief executive of the commission, said fleets should "choose more fuel-efficient vehicles, given it is an easy way to reduce costs".

The commission found vehicles in Australia's new car fleet emit 60 per cent more carbon pollution per vehicle than some European nations.

Tony Weber, chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, said motorists needed to consider their requirements when choosing a new car, acknowledging "the major impact of consumer choice".